Ann, seer of skeins in the auras and patterns of love, hate, envy, greed, admiration--all the human emotions in other words--is still learning the ins and outs of these weaves when she marries Allen Herrick, whom she (and, possibly, you) met when she met him earlier in The Skein. A very wise writer once wrote that books end, but stories never do.* This book begins as that book ends, with the marriage of Ann and Allen, who now live happily in the house he found for her in The Skein. Their friends, Letty and Gil, decide they like the idea and marry shortly after. Then Gil is strongarmed into painting a lovely woman wearing, among other things, a fabulous antique ruby necklace. Gil is accused of stealing this necklace and is taken by the husband of the lovely lady to the local jail where Colonel Lord Farthington is thwarted by Superintendent Oakes from having Gil arrested. Instead, Farthington is himself put into protective custody as the search for the rubies (possibly artificial) begins. This protective action is taken too late, however, as a dark car drives slowly past the group, and the colonel is slain. Ann and Allen stay in the center of the action, which builds to include the finding of two more ruby (?) necklaces buried in the gardens of an elegant country house which, shortly after, explodes. The plot includes a medicopter landing on the roof of a nearby country mansion which is found to have a landing area already prepared, but not for them. Murder by hatpin and mob hysteria follow as the villain seeks to gain control of the skein, giving him the power to create chaos in the minds of those who hate, while Ann and Allen struggle to create a powerful protection spun out of the powers they find in the secrets of the skein. *Sir Terry Pratchett The Renaissance of the Skein's tangled web will appeal to those who like character-driven drama with plenty of chuckles. --ForeWord Clarion Review
